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Nature: a redesign of the award-winning Evolution board game

Created by North Star Games

Nature is a strategy board game that stands on the shoulders of the blockbuster Evolution. Back at the Big Box pledge level or higher to get Nature and all the modules in June 2025, 9 months before their full retail release. Estimated pre-order shipping for all items is June 2025.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Announcing the Nature Multiplayer Happy Hour! Play Nature, Win Prizes!
22 days ago – Wed, Oct 16, 2024 at 09:27:48 AM

Play Nature. Win Prizes!

Thank you so much for your support. Nature is our fastest game to reach $500k in funding. To celebrate, we wanted to do something special.

Scott and the Nature digital team have been working hard behind the scenes to bring a new feature to life - Online Multiplayer Matchmaking.

Nature Multiplayer Happy Hour

Play the Nature Digital beta online during 'Happy Hour' to be automatically entered into a prize draw, with daily winners and a grand prize!

The Nature Digital App is free to download and includes game tutorials, AI for offline play, private multiplayer, and three game modules (Arctic Tundra, Jurassic, and Flight) to enjoy.

Download the Nature Digital app on iOS, Android, or Steam and play the free trial during the Kickstarter campaign. 

Multiplayer Happy Hour Schedule

The Multiplayer Happy Hour starts today! Be sure to update Nature to the newest version online.

Click "Find a Match" during the Multiplayer Happy Hour to be automatically matched with other players online. Keep your eyes open for the NSG team!

Daily Game at 2-3 pm EST:
16th Wed: Nature 
17th Thurs: Nature + Flight
18th Fri: Nature + Jurassic

19th Sat: Nature + Arctic Tundra
20th Sun: Nature + Arctic Tundra + Flight 

21st Mon: Nature
22nd Tues: Nature + Jurassic
23rd Wed: Nature + Flight

Daily Prize Draw

Play Nature Digital online for a chance to win daily prizes. You will gain more entries to a grand prize draw each day you play. Winners will be randomly selected and contacted via their in-game email address to select their prize.

Some of the prizes to be won!
Choose a Digital Art Print from Nature or Modules

We posted nine art pieces on the Oceans campaign, and each sold for between $500 and $3,000. We kept some of the art to give away later as prizes. This is your chance to win an original Catherine Hamilton watercolor!

16th - 22nd October
Daily Prize Winners will get to choose one of the following:

  • An original sketch or artwork from Evolution and Oceans
  • Out-of-print games, including a Special Edition Art Box of Evolution.
  • A Digital Print of Nature Art of your choice

    Plus! Play Nature online with Nature designer Dominic

23rd October
The Grand Prize Winner will get to choose two of the following:

  • A limited edition Nature prototype signed by designer Dominic
  • An original sketch or artwork from Evolution and Oceans
  • Out-of-print games, including a Special Edition Art Box of Evolution.
  • A Digital Print of Nature Art of your choice

    Plus! Play Nature online with Nature designer Dominic

See You There!

We hope you'll have fun joining us for the Multiplayer Matchmaking Hour. If you can't join us during these times, you can host private games with friends or find other players via this form.

Any questions let us know in the comments below!

Ross and the NorthStar Team

Updated Poll: Which Future Nature Modules Excite You Most?
23 days ago – Mon, Oct 14, 2024 at 06:49:45 PM


Hello everyone, it’s Dominic again - designer of Nature and founder of NorthStar. 

Half a Million! WOOOOOOOOT!!!

Thank you for your support! I am extreamly grateful for everyone's enthusiasm and especially for the trust you are putting into my vision. It means a lot to me and the entire NorthStar team. 

Vision for the Future
I'd like to hear from you about the next batch of modules I should be working on. I have put together a new poll on BoardGameGeek which incorporates many of the ideas you have suggested. Let me know which ideas are the most exciting to you!

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/166360/future-nature-modules-poll

The Climate module and the Disease & Immunity module are the first two modules we plan to release. Many of you have played Evolution: Climate, so I added a couple of questions about the Climate module. 

Cheers,
Dominic Crapuchettes

This is just the beginning!!  :-)

 
 
 

 

Update 6: Natural Disasters Promo Vote + How is Nature Different from CCGs?
28 days ago – Thu, Oct 10, 2024 at 09:07:33 AM

Update 6: Natural Disasters & How is Nature Different from CCGs?

Happy Thursday, folks! In this update, we're letting you vote on the next module promo art and discuss the difference between Nature's modular system and CCGs.

The Natural Disasters Module

Each module changes the game to create a different feeling at the table. Natural Disasters introduces a set of cards representing events that will dramatically impact your species.

Some disasters will have an immediate impact, like every species suffering population loss, while others will have an ongoing effect, like no food being added to the watering hole at the start of the round. At the end of each round, a new Natural Disaster is revealed, and it will be up to you to work out how to survive its impact.

Natural Disasters Card Art

Vote 4: Natural Disasters Promo Pack

Every module in your pledge includes its own promo pack, and we want your help deciding their final card design. Vote on a different module promo pack every week, continuing with Flight!

Atha Kanaani returns to illustrate the "Earthquake" promo card. Vote on your favorite sketch in the comments below!

I'm shaking! How do earthquakes affect the environment?

Living in a modern world, you might mainly think of earthquakes regarding their impact on manufactured structures. Windows shattering, buildings collapsing, structural damage, and roads and bridges out of use.

Earthquake environmental effects are just as dramatic. These include surface faulting, soil liquefaction, ground resonance, landslides, and ground failure. These leave permanent imprints in the environment. Moreover, underwater fault ruptures and seismically-triggered landslides can generate tsunami waves.

Of course, any impact on an environment will also impact its species. Anecdotal evidence abounds of animals, fish, birds, reptiles, and insects exhibiting strange behavior from weeks to seconds before an earthquake.

Vote in the Comments

Comment below, 1, 2, or 3, and tell us why you picked your favorite. Votes will close on October 19th, so remember to have your say.

Nature Designer Dominic Crapuchettes

Collectible card games (CCGs) can be a money sink. How is Nature different?

Hello everyone! I'm (Dominic) back to answer a common query. We plan to release Nature modules for the next ten years, so how does Nature's modular system differ from collectible card games?

CCGs v Nature

Some CCGs' “pay to win” business model can exploit people’s desire to feel powerful. Players may spend money on powerful cards simply because other players are purchasing powerful cards, too. This can create a vicious cycle in which people could regret how much money they’ve spent over time.

In Nature, everyone plays with the same deck, removing the temptation to spend money to feel like you’re getting better at the game. Our goal isn’t to make players feel like they need to expand their game but to offer exponentially more value if they do.

Nature Prototype

The Joy of Exploration

Nature is a modular game system that, in the simplest of analogies, could be compared to Lego. One box of Lego can provide lots of joy, but a person might want more options. No one needs to own all of the Legos in the world, but each new box can be combined with existing sets, providing an increasing number of possibilities to explore for everyone at the table.

Nature has an approachable core game, and once you understand the rules, you can start adding more modules to it to create bigger, richer experiences. Like adding more Lego, Modules give you more to explore and can be added to the game in seconds.

Nature Prototype

Fewer Rules, More Variety

A modular system also provides two important benefits over buying a new game. First, you already know 90% of the rules, so can get a fresh experience without wading through a complete rulebook. 

The second benefit is that Nature modules are designed to be combined. Each combination provides a unique experience, which means you get an exponentially increasing amount of content to explore with each new module you buy.

See you in the Comments!

Next week, we've got some big updates, with more details about Nature Solo mode, new votes on art and components, and matchmaking added to Nature Digital via a Happy Hour. Until then, let us know your thoughts and vote on the module art in the comments below. 

Dominic, Ross, and the NorthStar team.

Update 5: Flight Art Vote & Nature Updated on TTS
29 days ago – Tue, Oct 08, 2024 at 10:48:34 AM

Update 5: Nature Flight

Hello again! The team has just returned from an incredibly busy but joy-filled Spiel Essen. Conventions are magical times when we experience our games with you and join in on the fun of play. Board games are about bringing people together, and we couldn't be happier for the experience.

Dominic and the team at Spiel Essen

The Flight Module

Each module changes the game to create a different feeling at the table. Flight brings avian species into the game, allowing your species to escape to safety.

When Flight is in play, players will decide if their new species will be Flying or Land-based. Species that can fly will find it easier to evade predators; however, there is a catch. Flying species don't get an end-game bonus for surviving and have a lower maximum body size.

The Flight module also introduces Migration into the game, allowing flying species to soar away to a 'Faraway Place.' The Faraway Place is a new location that can enable you to expand your population safely.

Flight Module Artwork

Vote 3: Flight Promo Pack

Every module in your pledge includes its own promo pack, and we want your help deciding their final card design. Vote on a different module promo pack every week, continuing with Flight!

Laura Helton returns to illustrate the "Brood Parasite" promo card. Vote on your favorite sketch in the comments below!

Woah there! What is a Brood Parasite?

We all know raising children is costly (resources) and time-consuming. Brood parasitism is an evolutionary strategy where animals rely on others to raise their young. This allows the parasitic parents to spend more time on other activities, such as foraging and producing further offspring.

There are hundreds of different bird species that use brood parasitic behavior, but it isn't just limited to this species. Fish and insects also have their own means of having others look after their offspring, to significant effect.

Vote in the Comments

Comment below, 1, 2, or 3, and tell us why you picked your favorite. Votes will close on October 19th, so don't forget to have your say.

We've Updated Nature on Tabletop Simulator

We have created a prototype version of Nature you can play on Tabletop Simulator. The link allows you to access Nature and the first five modules (Flight, Jurassic, Natural Disasters, Arctic Tundra, and Amazon Rainforest).

Click here to access Nature for TTS.

Please note: Access to it requires a Tabletop Simulator.

See you in the comments!

Let us know your favorite sketches in the comments below. We'll be back with another update later in the week, but until then, see you in the comments!

Ross and the NorthStar team.

Update 4: Essen Spiel & Amazon Rainforest Art Vote!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 07:04:58 AM

Happy Monday, folks! Thanks to everyone who has joined us so far. It's been an incredible launch. It's true when we say that Nature wouldn't exist without you, and we don't take your support for granted. We also read every comment, so if anything is unclear, please don't hesitate to ask on the main campaign page.

Today's update has two parts: news about our trip to Spiel Essen this week and the Amazon Rainforest Promo Vote. Keep reading for more info.

p.s. If you've only just joined us, don't forget to go vote on the Jurassic promo art!

Play Nature at Spiel Essen

This week, the team is heading to Spiel Essen, one of the biggest board game conventions in the world. With around 200,000 attendees, it's a celebration of games that reminds us how popular this hobby has become.

Meet Dominic at the NorthStar Booth 4C210

Want to meet Dominic, the designer of Nature (Oceans & Evolution)? Visit us at the NorthStar booth 4C210 and say hello!

We are hosting demos of Nature throughout the show, so be sure to stop by the booth and sign up to play - spaces will fill quickly!

Spiel Essen takes place from Thursday, October 3rd, until Sunday, October 8th. For more information, visit the Spiel website here.

Amazon Rainforest Module Artwork by Vincent Dutrait

The Amazon Rainforest Module

Each module changes the game to create a different feeling at the table. The Amazon Rainforest creates an ecosystem bursting with population, where surprises hide behind every leaf in the canopy. 

First, players do not automatically reveal their traits. Instead, you may reveal a trait at any time. Traits must be revealed to gain their benefit, but not revealing them keeps them a secret. Is that species safe to eat? Or is it poisonous!?

Additionally, discarding a card to increase your population in the Amazon Rainforest module increases it by +2 rather than +1. However, unlike in Nature, any population lost is no longer returned in the next round, so be careful not to give yourself too many mouths to feed!

Vote 2: Amazon Rainforest Promo Pack

Every module in your pledge includes its own promo pack, and we want your help deciding their final card design. Vote on a different module promo pack every week, continuing with Amazon Rainforest!

Vincent Dutrait is back to create the Frugivorous. Vote on your favorite sketch in the comments below!

Wait a second, what does Frugivorous mean? 

A frugivore thrives on raw fruits or the succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit, and frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and nutritional composition of fruits. 

Vote in the Comments

Comment below, 1, 2, or 3, and tell us why you picked your favorite. Votes will close on the 8th October, giving Vincent time to finish the art so we can reveal it to you all during the campaign. 

We've Updated the Rulebooks

We will continue working on the Nature rulebooks until we ship the games to you. However, we quickly updated the ruleset to catch up on some tweaks we've made over the last few months. You can find the updates Rules here.

See you in the comments!

Although we'll be at Essen Spiel this week, we'll still check the comments daily. It might take a little longer than usual to reply, but we will reply to every message as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience. 

We'll be back with another update later in the week, but until then, see you in the comments!

Ross and the NorthStar team.